The present invention relates to a cable system and to methods for preventing undue or unwanted bending of a cable.
Modern high bandwidth networking cables, for example fiber-optic cables, have strict limitations on their so-called bend radius. For example, with reference to FIG. 1, a minimum bend radius 100 for an unshielded cable may be about 8 times the cable diameter and a minimum bend radius of a shielded cable may be about 12 times the cable diameter. The minimum bend radius is the radius beyond which a cable should not be bent without risking damage to the integrity of the cable. The minimum bend radius sometimes appears in fine print on the outside of a cable. However, these cables are thicker than ever, and more and more cables are being stuffed into a fixed amount of space around data center racks, in the plenum, or on raised cable guides. Thus, it is inevitable that installers will sometimes try to over-bend the cables and, in the process, compromise the quality or even destroy the cables.
There is therefore a need for cables with strict bend width limitations and methods whereby installers are clearly notified as soon as they attempt to over-bend cables.